K is for Kyoko
by limepickles
Summary: An ongoing story following the fate of a very minor DN character, Kyoko the fangirl. Maybe, just maybe, her character will grow into something interesting by the time she gets through the rise and fall of Kira's perfect world.
1. Chapter 1 : Crush

"The guy on the right is SO cute....!"

Kyoko let out a soft sigh as she watched their freshman representatives take the podium. Yuki turned her head in disbelief, doing a double-take after noticing a genuine blush on her friend's face. She'd known Kyoko all through high school, but somehow, her taste in men could still surprise her. That "guy on the right," Hideki Ryuuga, might have got a high score on the entrance exam, but he was the only one in the whole auditorium not wearing proper dress clothes. And this was beyond underdressed. He wore scruffy untied sneakers, jeans, and some ratty plain white shirt that looked like the first thing he could find on his bedroom floor that morning. What was he thinking, pulling a stunt like that at To-Oh University? Not to mention he shuffled along like a hunchback, and had dark baggy circles under his eyes so big you could probably even see them from the back row.

"Whaat? What's wrong with you, Kyoko?" Yuki whispered, "The guy on the left's way better looking."

It was pointless, but it had to be said. Granted, the guy on the left was maybe _too _good looking, now that Yuki thought about it... everything about him was spoiled-rotten preppie perfection. According to the rumors already buzzing around them, he'd actually scored 100% on every single subject of the entrance exams (in a tie with the freakshow). He just couldn't be real, this "Light Yagami"... and what kind of name was that, anyway? Yuki sighed - surely Kyoko was thinking the exact same thing right now, championing her latest undying crush in her head.

Almost no one was listening to the generic speeches they gave. Everyone was whispering among themselves, or at least listening in to the gossip about Light Yagami and Hideki Ryuuga - Hideki Ryuuga! That was the best part. Yuki would have to tease Kyoko about it mercilessly till she found a new crush. The poor guy had the exact same name as the latest idol at the top of the charts. Here she was, pining over the most unorthodox guy she'd ever seen in her life, but when you put it as "Kyoko's totally in love with Hideki Ryuuga," she sounded like any other pop-culture fangirl. Of course, Kyoko _was _a fangirl, but she at least tried to not be a brainless one.

The whispers quickly died down, replaced by hurried applause as the representatives walked back to their seats. Except Ryuuga wasn't sitting on the seat, he was _perching _on it somehow. What a weirdo! A fresh round of whispered theories made the rounds once the next speaker settled into his speech. Maybe this Ryuuga was really poor, and only got into To-Oh thanks to a full scholarship. That could make sense, since he got a 100% score just like Light. Some kind of crazy mad genius. The stories only got more elaborate as the welcoming ceremony rolled on.

Once it was over, Yuki and Kyoko walked outside and lingered with some friends, but Kyoko was predictably spaced out. Her eyes were wide with childish delight, magnified even more by her thick glasses. Yuki could almost see them turning into heart shapes as Kyoko stole glimpses of her new loverboy, Ryuuga the Misunderstood Hunchback. Strangely, he seemed to be hitting it off very well with Light the Angel of Cram School. Yuki had noticed them shaking hands and talking to each other right after the speeches, and now Ryuuga made a point to say goodbye to Light before... hopping into his posh chauffeured limo?

Maybe Kyoko had some decent taste after all..

* * *

A couple days later, Yuki met Kyoko after their morning classes so they could have lunch together. Neither one of them had brought a lunch, just like yesterday. Nothing new for Yuki, but Kyoko at least was the type to love her cutesy bento. It must be stressful for her, getting adjusted to this first week of college life. Either that or...

"So how come you skipped making lunch again? Up all night dreaming about Hideki Ryuuga?" Yuki teased. Kyoko just smiled like she was proud of the accusation.

"Hey, I wonder if he'd ever eat a bento I made for him?" she wondered.

"Who knows, he probably has private butlers cooking him stuff to eat in his limo."

Kyoko frowned and didn't reply. Maybe it was starting to sink in that, weirdo or not, Ryuuga was probably still out of their league. Yuki almost felt a bit guilty, but the feeling was soon replaced by pure hunger. She tucked her hands into the warm pockets of her hoodie and walked a bit faster towards the cafeteria.

"Yuki! Look over there!"

"Hm...?" Yuki grunted, turning her head. She'd been lost in thought about what kind of bread she wanted to get until Kyoko's perky voice demanded her attention.

"There! The tennis court!" Kyoko grabbed Yuki's arm and led her down the steps, brimming with excitement. "It's Ryuuga, look how good he is!"

Yuki looked through the chain link fence and sure enough, the two people having a game were Light Yagami and Hideki Ryuuga.

"Wow... they're _both_ really good!" Yuki said, forgetting in the heat of the moment to tease Ryoko again somehow. She couldn't imagine baggy-eyed Ryuuga leaving the computer screen in his mom's basement long enough to try any sports, let alone be this good. How could he move like that? There were already a few other people standing around watching, and more passerby kept coming to join the crowd. It was like a professional match, everything moved so fast. Yuki watched the volley intently, ignoring her growling stomach. She couldn't look away until some upperclassman came stomping up behind her.

"Captain-!" the man shouted, panting as he came to a stop, "I thought I'd heard of Light Yagami before, so I looked him up. He was the junior high champion in 1999 and 2000! When he won in 2000, he announced he was quitting once he started high school, and he hasn't been in a single tournament since..." The upperclassman trailed off, catching his breath.

"So hey, what about Ryuuga, then?" Kyoko chirped, clasping her hands in front of her heart. "He's totally holding his own against this junior high champion. In fact, he's even better!"

"Kyoko..." Yuki groaned, cranking an eyebrow up at her in irritation.

"That's the thing, I can't find anything on the guy..." The upperclassman grumbled. Kyoko's face fell into a thoughtful pout, caught between disappointment and excitement over this element of mystery. Yuki tuned out the chatter from the tennis team boys and went back to just watching the game. It only got more and more intense. And now that he was out of that expensive suit, tensing those muscles and moving with vicious force, sweat sticking to his hair, messing up that perfectly styled cut, an absolutely _wild _look of inhuman determination on that once polite face...

...Yuki realized that Light Yagami was starting to look pretty damn hot.

"YEAH! GOT him!" Yuki shouted as Light made the winning shot.

"Set! Won by Light Yagami, six games to four!" snapped the referee. Yuki screamed an incoherent victory cry, at full stadium volume.

"Aww, poor Ryuuga, he almost had it..." Kyoko said softly. Yuki had almost forgotten she was still there. Her brain switched gears too fast and stalled out into sudden embarrassment.

"Agh- er... sorry... I got kind of carried away..." Yuki stammered, starting to blush as she looked at her friend.

"Yuki! You look beet red! Don't tell me-" Kyoko was grinning from ear to ear.

"Sorry! I'm sorry, Kyoko. Um, really, Ryuuga was really good too..."

"I knew it! You've got a crush on him too!" Kyoko broke down into hysterical laughter, turning Yuki even more red as some heads turned their way. "But I called him first, it's too late now!" she teased in a singsong voice.

"Um... that's not really it..."

But Kyoko just kept on giggling until Yuki caught the infectious laughter. They slung their arms over each other's shoulders as they doubled over and caught their breath, staggering back towards their original destination.

"..._Seriously_, though! It's not!"


	2. Chapter 2 : Promise

It was 3 PM, and Kyoko stood in front of a row of vending machines. Her eyes skimmed uselessly over the different varieties of drinks. She'd never liked the taste of alcohol much, so she was far from a connoisseur. A row of fruit-flavored drinks in colorful cans finally jumped out at her. Those might be good. She tried to look nonchalant as she peeked up and down the street to see if anyone was watching her. Kyoko had picked up drinks while shopping with her parents even when she was a little kid, but now that she was buying for herself, she felt suddenly self-conscious. And she was supposed to get a lot of them. The mental image of sticking note after note into the machine and sticking all the cans in her bag one by one made her cringe with embarrassment. Maybe just walking into a store and asking for a case wasn't so terrifying after all. But hardly anyone was around... argh, why did Yuki have to have an afternoon class!

_"I won't get out till 6, so you get the drinks in the meantime. Then I'll meet you at your place and we can start the weekend! Get as much as you can, here, this should cover my half." _Over lunch, Yuki had worked out a whole plan for them to celebrate surviving their first week in college, but it had one fatal flaw: relying on Kyoko to know anything about partying. Kyoko sighed and started off buying just one of each fruit flavor. If no one was still looking at her, then maybe she'd go on and buy just a few more...

Kyoko made her way back home to stash the drinks in her fridge. The house was peacefully quiet with the afternoon sun still streaming through the windows. She gently set her full bag down on the floor, and rearranged some things to clear a space. Without bothering to take the cans out, she nudged the lumpy bag between two shelves and leaned on the door to make sure it shut. She still had a couple hours to study before Yuki arrived.

Yuki finally made it shortly after Kyoko's parents had come and gone. They seemed pretty excited as well about their daughter's first week at prestigious Toh-Oh, and had planned a romantic weekend out together so the girls could stay up late and have fun without being a bother. Mom had even brought a cache of snack food. Kyoko looked over the spread on the kitchen table, feeling for a moment like she was going backwards to grade school instead of entering college. But when Yuki barged in the door, it didn't matter anymore. It was time to eat junk food for dinner and guzzle down some mandarin-flavored alcohol.

"How much've we got left now?" Yuki asked once they were two rounds in, gesturing at the fridge with a slightly drunken flourish.

"I think... oh wow, there's still tons," Kyoko said, crouching in front of the open door and rummaging through the bag.

"Grab a couple more... getting a good buzz yet?"

"Yeah! A little... this is much better than sake," Kyoko said, sitting down while balancing four more cans. She opened hers and mimicked the satisfying hissing sound with a goofy _pssh_.

"Okay then, we need some kind of drinking game."

"Like watching a movie? Or a card game?"

"Hrrmm, card game sounds too complicated..." Yuki grumbled, taking a thoughtful swig of her third can.

"I could look one up on the internet!" Kyoko volunteered.

"Wait! I know! Truth or Dare! I mean, Truth or Drink!"

"So you tell the truth or take a drink? But I'd tell the truth anyway."

"No, if you tell the truth then the other person drinks. Yeah, that'll work."

"Okay, so you go first," Kyoko said, getting a huge smile on her face, "_Do _you, or do you _not...._ have a crush on Hideki Ryuuga!"

"Nope!" Yuki leaned in before Kyoko could protest and turned on her serious voice, jabbing the table for emphasis. "And that _is _the truth."

"Ohh, but I saw you-" Kyoko started.

"If you want to find out who I _do _have a crush on," Yuki said, playing it up with a conspiratorial grin, "you'll have to wait till your next question! Now have a drink!"

As the night went on, the structure of the game slipped away into pure conversation punctuated by sips. They'd abandoned the chairs to sit on the floor, slumped against the wall.

"You know..." Yuki drawled, "I think you _should _ask him out. Ryuuga."

"I can't! I never asked anyone out! I, have gone out, on a _real _date... with NO ONE," Kyoko said, overpunctuating with comic emphasis.

"But see? That's the _beauty _of it! This is the perfect plan, okay? Even if he does reject you!" Yuki stood up and sold it like she was preaching from a pulpit. "You've got to just suck it up and get over it! Let it happen! What's the worst he can do? Maybe he'll go _ewww no way, go out with YOU, you suck! _but so what? You know what you do then?"

"What...?"

"You think, oh well, so much for that, I had no chance with him anyway cause he's mister crazy rich supergenius! So who cares!"

"But if I don't have a chance-"

"But _maaaybe _you do!" Yuki insisted, sitting back down and grabbing Kyoko's shoulders. "I'm not going to ask Light out, I KNOW that's no chance. But you have like, a 2% chance!"

"I don't know... I don't even see him anymore! When can I ask him out?"

"The _next _time you see him then! DOO IT KYOKO!" Yuki said in a sports-chant rhythm, pumping her hand in the air. "You HAVE to. Promise me, or else!"

"Or else what?"

"Or else... I'll think of something really bad to _make _you do it. But just do it! Promise on the rest of this drink, okay?" Yuki held her can forward in toast.

"Aaaaarrrrg...." Kyoko's voice wavered in a drawn-out reluctant groan. "Okay!"

Their cans met with a dull tap.


	3. Chapter 3 : Fear

Sunday came and went. Kyoko spent most of it nursing a headache, and alternating between trying to throw up already and trying not to. Yuki looked just as groggy as she left in the morning with a limp wave and grunt goodbye. Kyoko hadn't even thought she had that much, but the empty cans left scattered about told a different story. The seductive sweet drinks had ganged up on her somehow. A lesson learned for next time...

The next day at school, Yuki spotted her between classes and said one quick thing to her in passing.

"Don't think I forgot, now. You're going to do it. Right?"

Kyoko nodded. After that, Yuki quickly dropped her teasing from before to fall into a kind of warzone solidarity. Kyoko stopped her random gushing and daydreaming around Yuki too. The only time they mentioned "him" was in short, utilitarian reports on where they'd looked, or should look next. It was like they believed this was seriously going to happen. As a whole month went by with no sign of Ryuuga, Kyoko's fear and "oh no I just _couldn't!_" anxiety slowly made way for impatience, determination, and the thrill of the hunt. Where _was _he, anyway? Did he think he could turn down their date already? By hiding at home?

Yuki felt proud of the change in her friend, but she was worried it wouldn't last if it kept dragging on like this. Had Ryuuga dropped out? Switched schools? Maybe she needed to start asking around a bit. Without letting Kyoko know, of course. Someone had to know about him, it's not like he never talked to anybody. He used to hang around with Light after all, and Yuki had certainly spotted _him _on campus plenty of times...

She couldn't.

No way she could ask Light.

_But it's not like I'm asking him out, I'm asking him about somebody else, an innocent question, nothing to do with him at all!_

It would be a good excuse, just to talk to him...

Finding Light certainly was an easier task than finding Ryuuga. But Yuki didn't find him alone. Damn it, she did like the fact that he was wild for a preppie boy, but did he _have _to be making out with that snotty bitch Shiho of all people? So much for Plan A. Yuki thought with a vindictive smirk that for a 100% genius, he sure needed to find a better hiding spot to get his mack on. Not only had she spotted him, some weird _old _guy with a face like a brick sat off in the distance watching them the whole time.

It only got worse from there. One day, the two friends sat out in the courtyard, catching some fresh air as they ate lunch together. Yuki was finally getting in a good habit of bringing lunches for herself, even if it was just a lazy pile of eggs on rice. As she tipped the last of it over her mouth, Kyoko just stared down at her bento, picking slowly at each little piece. Yuki wanted to ask what was wrong, but it seemed too flippant - Kyoko looked like she was seriously about to cry.

"What if... he was killed by Kira...?" Kyoko whispered. Yuki's eyes bugged a bit. She hadn't been expecting that kind of theory.

"Why would you think that?"

"It's just... all the new stuff happening lately, on the news, with the new Kira or fake Kira..." Kyoko pulled off her glasses and rubbed at one corner of her eye. "He even killed policemen, and newspeople, just anyone who speaks out against him--!" she hiccuped as the tears started coming out. It wasn't just about Ryuuga. She was scared for herself, too. Yuki instinctively wrapped an arm around her.

"Kyoko..." Yuki's teasing tone was toned down a bit to sound comforting. "I know, it is scary, but even if Kira is going nuts, why would he go after us? We aren't on TV or in the police... we're taking _accounting _for crying out loud!" One of Kyoko's sobs broke up into a soft laugh. "I don't know what the deal with Ryuuga is, but..." Yuki thought about making a segue to some moral lesson about going for it and making your move, but it really felt shallow all of a sudden.

"Thanks, Yuki." Kyoko made one last wipe over her face and put back her glasses. She took a slow, deep breath, as if to declare the episode finished. "Do you want the rest of my bento?"


	4. Chapter 4 : Question

On May 28th, Kyoko didn't have a morning class. When the sun peeked through her window, and she naturally stirred awake, she rolled over and tucked her head under the covers for another lazy hour of sleep. She walked downstairs to an empty house, her parents already away at work. She stayed in her pajamas while she took her time making an elaborate bento box for the afternoon. She showered and got dressed, and packed her books and homework into her little backpack. She walked to the train, easily finding a seat in the off-peak hour. She rested her eyes for a few minutes, remembering the news from last night. Business as usual. More Kira victims. No new clues or word from the mysterious L. The train was too quiet and she felt like everyone was watching her, watching each other.

Kyoko had always been afraid of silly, mundane things. Embarrassing herself. Being made fun of. Getting a bad grade. Putting on any more weight. Not looking cute enough. Not making the right choice in classes. Asking someone out on a date. She'd never been scared of the serious things, like crime and death. Not until Kira showed up. She got off at her stop and walked through the campus. There was still time before class. Time to sit down and read for a while in the courtyard. But it felt unseasonably cold, and she soon decided she needed a hot coffee and cake.

There was a cafe on campus she liked to visit lately. They had lovely Western cakes and sweets. It never seemed too busy, but even at its busiest times Kyoko could usually find a secluded corner to sit and think or do some homework all by herself. Today she ordered her coffee with a small, elegant cylinder of layered mousse. Two broken chocolate wedges stuck into the top, one white, one dark. She picked the white one out of the top of the mousse (she'd save the dark one for last), and felt its delicate snap between her teeth. As she sipped her coffee and lost herself in the small comforts of a well-deserved treat, the morning's anxiety slowly evaporated from her.

"What's that one you're eating?"

Kyoko turned her head to stare right into the baggy eyes of Hideki Ryuuga. He leaned forward on tiptoe to look intently at her plate, a finger hooked hungrily over his lip.

"It's... it's called Chocolate Dianne!" she gasped. "It's very good! _Really_ good!"

"One Chocolate Dianne please, and a tea with six sugars," Ryuuga said, turning back to the counter.

After he paid and sat down at a table behind her, Kyoko wolfed down the rest of her mousse in one huge bite, and rushed out the door.

Kyoko ran down the walkway to the building where Yuki was in class. She peeked through the window in the classroom door, gasping for breath, and saw Yuki's profile, looking ahead towards the unseen instructor at the front of the room. She had to get her attention somehow, it was an emergency. Yuki glanced above the door, perhaps checking the clock, and Kyoko waved her arms around. Some other students a bit closer to the door looked her way too, but she ignored it.

_Ryuuga_, she silently mouthed once she saw she had Yuki's attention. Yuki just squinted at her and raised a quizzical eyebrow.

_RYUUU_.... Kyoko had octopus lips as she drew out the vowel, and made her hands into a crocodile-mouth pantomime that she hoped would resemble a dragon.

_...GAAAA!_ She mouthed a silent scream as she flailed her hands about her head. That gave her another idea. While Yuki scrunched up her face in confusion even more, Kyoko ruffled her hands through her short bob of hair, and then pulled her lower eyelids down into bags. Yuki looked away, trying hard to stifle a laugh. She weakly waved a hand towards Kyoko, trying to shoo her away before she cracked up in the middle of class. Kyoko realized with defeat that Yuki wasn't the one with the crush - she might not even remember what Ryuuga looked like by now. And besides... Kyoko admitted to herself that she shouldn't have come running to Yuki for help to begin with. She was supposed to be doing this on her own! Right?

She hurried back to the cafe to find him already gone. Of course. But surely he couldn't have gone far? Kyoko looked back outside to see with a wave of relief that she'd managed to run right past him. He was perched on a nearby park bench, holding a small book in front of his face with one hand. No more time to think about it, just start walking...

"Hey! Nakamura-san! Wait up!"

_What? No! _ Some classmate came jogging up beside her. The one with the dyed brown hair... for some reason Kyoko couldn't remember her actual name yet, which made this doubly awkward. She could do it, she really could, so long as she got him alone! _Like he already had been, before, but you passed it up..._ it looked like Ryuuga was getting tied up as well. Light Yagami came strolling up to talk to him, after waving goodbye to his newest girl, Kiyomi "Refined" Takada. "Miss To-Oh". She'd have to report to Yuki.

"Going to class?" the brown-haired classmate continued. "Did you get that one problem about the..." It went in one of Kyoko's ears and out the other as they strolled closer towards Ryuuga's bench. Yet another girl was coming to join the party. A blonde cutie in a full-on Gothic Lolita outfit. Kyoko had always adored that style, but knew it wouldn't ever look right on her... thankfully, the blonde was after Light, not Ryuuga, cause she just looked adorable. In fact-

"Hey," Kyoko interrupted whatever her classmate had been saying, "Isn't that Misa-Misa?" She blinked with genuine surprise as some other people stopped to stare. Misa Amane, aka "Misa-Misa". She was a real model, Kyoko had just seen her in a fashion magazine. What was going on today, that all these intimidating people were showing up at the same time? "She's so cute," Kyoko said, moving ahead of her classmate to blend in with the crowd now forming around Misa... and Ryuuga.

"Hey! Who just touched my butt?!" Misa shrieked as more people closed in.

"How imprudent!" Ryuuga said, quickly darting in front of Misa to make a dramatic gesture, "That's unforgivable. I shall catch the culprit!"

_She was standing right behind him, she was nearly touching him... _it all became a blur to Kyoko until Misa's manager came to drag her away. The crowd began to break up. Kyoko retreated, hid behind a tree like a cartoon character, and hoped her classmate would move on without her. That part at least, went according to plan. The brunette girl got caught up in some of the gossip, and wandered off with some other onlookers.

Ryuuga spoke briefly with Light, and then they parted ways as well. He was walking away on his own. But just as Kyoko moved to follow him, a loud piece of J-Pop erupted from Ryuuga's pocket. He pulled out a phone and answered it. For some reason, Light came walking back to take the phone from Ryuuga. They talked again for what felt like forever as Kyoko leaned against the tree. Ryuuga even took another call on another phone while she waited. She was going to be late for class, but that hardly mattered. Eventually Light walked away again, and Ryuuga started walking a different direction. She saw a black limo pulling up to the curb of the street ahead. He was leaving the campus. This was perfect.

Kyoko walked quickly, pulling off her backpack and dropping it on the ground. Then she took off running as Ryuuga shuffled towards the street. The chauffeur stepped out of the limo...

"Ryuuga-san!" she shouted after him. It echoed softly through the crisp air between the buildings. He turned around.

"Yes?" He looked obviously surprised, and his stare scrutinized her so closely she almost lost her nerve again. But she had already made the leap.

"Sorry to bother you..." Kyoko panted for air and walked the rest of the distance. "You don't know me but, I saw you at the ceremony... I just had to ask you something, since I finally saw you on campus again..."

"Ask me what?" He briefly resembled an ape as he scratched his head.

"Would you... goonadatewithmesometime! Er... a date. Sometime. With me." He just kept _staring_ at her. "...maybe coffee?"

"You're the girl from the cafe..." he said, finally. A chauffeur opened the back door of the limo and waited attentively.

"Yes! With the great taste in chocolate!" Kyoko said, shaking like she'd had ten coffees instead of just one. But it almost looked like _he_ was blushing.

"I've never been asked on a date before," he said, mostly to himself. He looked down awkwardly as he pulled a phone from his pocket. It seemed to snap him back to his senses. "What was your name again?"

"Kyoko Nakamura."

"And your phone number?" He entered it into his own phone and snapped it shut. "Thank you, Nakamura-san. I'd love to go on a date. But I have some very pressing business right now. If that ever changes though..." he stepped back, sliding into the seat of the limo without taking his eyes from her, "I will get back to you."

The door shut.

The chauffeur walked around to the front seat and sped him away. For a moment, L's thoughts strayed from the Kira case to match the thought Kyoko had watching him leave.  
_  
What just happened?_


	5. Chapter 5 : Reactions

Kyoko walked back to retrieve her backpack. She stepped right up next to it, bumping her shoes against it aimlessly. She stared down at it like some out-of-place flower she'd just discovered. Her whole sense of time had derailed. Even if she wasn't already late for class, it would have felt bizarre to show up and have things go back to normal. But she'd already had a coffee break, so now what should she do? She picked up the backpack and walked back inside to wait for Yuki.

"Oh hey Kyoko! You weren't waiting out there the whole time, were you?" Yuki said as she left her classroom.

"Um, no... no I wasn't." Kyoko smiled with secret knowledge, egging Yuki on to press for more detail.

"I thought you had class now."

"Yeah... I'm skipping today!" Kyoko watched with glee as Yuki's eyebrows shot up.

"Skipping? How come? Is that what that whole spaz attack was about? That was hilarious!" Yuki grinned at the memory of it and briefly mimicked the hands-flying "GAAAA" moment.

"I was trying to say... I found Ryuuga!"

"Seriously? Man, after all this time?" Yuki had almost started to believe the Kira theory. "So how'd it go...?" she asked in a singsong voice, already implying she'd have to nag Kyoko about chickening out.

"Good. I think."

"Good? What, you mean you asked him out already?" Yuki looked at Kyoko with disbelief as she replied with a silent nod. "Holy shit! What happened?"

"Actually... I don't really know! He's got to get back to me... but I asked him! And it wasn't so bad after all." Kyoko beamed, focusing on the positive.

"Wow... Kyoko, that's... I'm so proud of you! You're making me look bad here, I might have to go ask Light out now just to keep up."

"Oh... I almost forgot. About Light, I've got some more bad news, actually."

"Who is it now?" Yuki rolled her eyes.

"Kiyomi Takada... and maybe Misa-Misa."

"Misa-Misa?"

"She's a teen model. Gothic Lolita. She's _so _cute! I just read about her in-" Kyoko cut off that train of thought looking at Yuki's grimace. "Er, anyway, she came to campus just now to visit him..."

"Damn! I was starting to think I had a chance if he's that much of a swinger, but teen models and Miss To-Oh?!" Yuki couldn't help but laugh. "Man. He's fun to watch just for the drama, isn't he?"

"He is! But... Yuki, you aren't really going to ask him out, are you?" Kyoko worried a bit, about her friend getting taken advantage of. She hoped it really was just a crush and something fun to gossip about, nothing serious...

"Oh HELL no. ...he probably caught something from Shiho the She-Ho, anyway."

Kyoko groaned at the crude joke.

* * *

That night, L was firmly settled into his chair, patiently watching the screen in front of him. A live video feed showed Misa Amane, masked and bound in a straightjacket with heavy restraints. He'd given Watari free rein to get her to talk, but nothing was working yet. He asked Matsuda to bring him some more donuts and dial Mogi for him. Matsuda passed his phone to L by the tip of its antenna with an eyeroll.

"Mogi-san. I know you're busy shadowing Light-kun, but I'd like you to observe another To-Oh student for me starting tomorrow. ...Kyoko Nakamura. I'll send you her details."

Mogi hadn't mentioned the girl as someone in contact with Light, but maybe she was an accomplice of Misa? The small female fingerprints on those tapes belonged to someone else, and the way she'd approached him like that could have easily held some ulterior motive. L finished the call and held the phone out to Matsuda, who was just coming back with a box of donuts in his hands and an annoyed grimace on his face.

* * *

The weeks that followed were peaceful. Kyoko saw no sign of Ryuuga, but his magic reappearance out of nowhere had renewed her faith. She was convinced that everything would work out, and she'd see him again, probably when she least expected it. So she tried not to expect it. Meanwhile, Yuki was getting to be on good terms with Takeshi-san from the tennis club. He was always looking up info on people... like Light. Kyoko thought that had to be a strange way to start a relationship, asking for the latest gossip on someone else... but Takeshi-san did seem like a good guy. He kept on trying to find something on Ryuuga too, but with no success.

More importantly though, the Kira killings had stopped. Just a few days after the Ryuuga incident, Kyoko heard on the news that there were no suspicious criminal heart attacks to report that day. And then the next day, and the day after that. It still bothered her that there was no news about Kira being caught, or any information on _how _he did those murders. But it made her hopeful, just to have an interruption in the routine. At least at the start of the Kira murders, people had still been shocked. And there was that broadcast from L, confronting Kira like he was just a regular criminal, and narrowing down his hiding place. It was actually a bit exciting, waiting to see the resolution, and hear how the trick had been done. But as months went by, it was all forgotten. People were forgetting that Kira was a _person... _a person here in Kanto with her! Only anonymous people on the internet actually called him a god, but in real life he was treated like an act of God. A force of nature - here are today's executed criminals, and now on to today's weather.

One night, when Kyoko had stayed up very late doing homework and her brain was half-drunk with sleep deprivation, she wondered if Ryuuga could even be Kira. What was he so busy with, that he never came to school? And Kira was supposed to be some kind of psychic or something... _some kind of crazy genius. _The killings had stopped, just a few days after he came back to school and she asked him on a date... he said he'd never been asked on a date before. Just like her. If he was psychic, could he read minds? Could he see how they were just the same, but Kira was scaring her? And then after thinking about it for a few days, he was transformed by the power of love, and... she had to stop reading shoujo manga. But still, there was something strange about Ryuuga, and for the first time Kyoko admitted to herself just how little she knew about him. It was worrying.

Her phone jerked into life, vibrating loudly on her bedside table. Kyoko screamed.


	6. Chapter 6 : Doubt

Kyoko's hand shot out for her phone, mashing the button to pick up the call as she pulled it to her ear.

"Hello?" Without her glasses on, she couldn't see who the caller was.

"Kyoko...?" It was Yuki, but her voice...

"Yuki? What's wrong?"

Yuki didn't say anything for a moment. It sounded like she'd been crying.

"Yuki?!"

"I'm at the police station."

"What? What happened?"

"I... heh... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have woke you up, I'll talk about it tomorrow, when I see you..."

"But Yuki-"

"I'm okay, though. And Hikaru's here with me too, so."

"Hikaru?"

"Ah- Takeshi-san. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

The line went dead.

* * *

Light seemed to have snapped. For a week, he'd taken the confinement very patiently. Even as he wondered "could I be Kira...?" he just sat there, calm and unfazed. Too perfect, as usual. He even forgot his place once, asking for details on how Misa was doing, or if she'd said anything that would help the investigation. But on day seven, something in Light just flipped like a switch. L could swear he even saw the exact moment it happened. All of a sudden, Light seemed to realize that this was a bad idea, and he wasn't really Kira after all. He was acting just as emotional as his father.

After that, even Matsuda had to admit that things were looking bad for Light. But something still just didn't fit. L was still waiting for something. He didn't buy it, this "not knowing I was Kira" story... Kira couldn't have done all the things he'd done without any conscious knowledge. Light had to be Kira, and he had to have a purpose for being here. Maybe he'd planned for the murders to continue while he was in confinement. Maybe he'd assumed he would then be let free, but for once his plan had failed... maybe that was what made him snap. Maybe he would finally confess, at this rate. It just wasn't good enough, saying "we locked Light up and the murders stopped so he's Kira." L had to know. _How _did he kill?

The days rolled by slowly. L double-checked and triple-checked every bit of his reasoning in his head. There was nothing new to look over. Mogi called with an update.

"Ryuuzaki-san, there's been no suspicious behavior from Kyoko Nakamura, but one of her friends was assaulted last night. I just checked back with the office. They booked him, but we can keep his name from the media. If he's targeted anyway..."

"Yes. Do that, then. Anything else?" L sighed. This wasn't really helping, this was too much of a stretch.

"No. She appears to have no relation to Misa after all, or to the case. The only thing I've noticed is her having discussions about you, but it seemed-"

"She said something about me?"

* * *

Yuki's face looked awful, but she smiled when she found Kyoko at their meeting spot near the tennis courts. Takeshi-san, no wait, _Hikaru _was with her. The way she tenderly held his hand as they walked looked just as unusual on Yuki as the bruises. Kyoko leapt to her feet to give Yuki a careful hug.

"Yuki?! What happened? Why are you even at school, that looks terrible!"

"Well... it's not as bad as it looks." Yuki looked away awkwardly. "I really am okay, it was just scary was all, when it happened." She sighed for a moment before bringing back her brave face. "Just some asshole pervert, it was right after our date and I was on my way home by myself. He didn't get to do much of anything, though."

"Yeah, by the time I got there, Yuki was letting him have it..." Hikaru smiled sheepishly. Yuki grinned, looking genuine this time.

"Well, I still could've used some help, I was kind of sad he ran off though, I couldn't wait to see what _you_ were gonna do to him." Yuki poked at Hikaru affectionately. "Stupid idiot couldn't even pick someone without a date."

"But I should've-" Hikaru sounded guilty, but Yuki poked him harder to cut him off.

"Oh my God! I'm so glad you're okay..." Kyoko wiped away a couple tears that were just starting to build up. "And Takeshi-san... thanks for looking out for her."

The couple exchanged embarrassed looks with each other.

"Oh hey, do I really look that bad? I tried to put some makeup on... I don't want to just sit at home and have to worry about catching up on homework cause of that asshole..." Yuki grumbled.

"What was he thinking, anyway? If Kira comes back, he's dead meat." Hikaru said.

Kyoko frowned. The crimes really were getting worse. At first, things had still been so peaceful, and she'd hoped that criminals would have learned a lesson by now. Or that things would just go back to normal, instead of the worst crime spree Japan had seen in a decade. If anything, Kyoko thought that even if Kira was gone, shouldn't there just not be as many criminals _left _anymore? _But there are _billions_ of people in the world, genius, _she scolded herself. Looking at her friend, Kyoko found herself half-wishing after all that maybe Kira _should _come back...

As if he was reading her mind again, Kira returned in full force just a few days later.


	7. Chapter 7 : Explosion

"KIRA STRIKES AGAIN!"

Kyoko felt her heart jump just from looking at the headline. She couldn't tell if she should be happy or sad, only that she had to buy the paper and read every word. She'd have all day to figure out what to think about it - surely everyone on campus would be debating nonstop. Once she got off the train, Kyoko went straight to her beloved cafe to get caught up on the basic facts in peace. In just one day, two weeks worth of criminals had been killed all at once. Kyoko pursed her lips with annoyance at the way they described it. It made it sound like there was some kind of scientific Kira Rate. Maybe the Kira Constant. But she had to admit it fit. It was exactly like Kira had spent those last two weeks deciding who to kill, and saved them up for later. Just to toy with them.

_Maybe this is a good thing_, she thought. _Maybe now that Kira's done this, the criminals won't go crazy when he stops again. ...Maybe Kira _wants _to stop._

It felt like wishful thinking, though. Kyoko sipped at her coffee, holding her hands to the cup to warm them up. She finished her treat and headed for the tennis courts, looking for Yuki. It turned out Yuki was already wandering around the quad, looking for Kyoko. She jogged up to meet her.

"Kyoko! Did you read the-" Yuki trailed off as Kyoko held up the newspaper. "Ah-hah, on top of it already."

"Is that guy in here?" Kyoko asked, peeking back to the story on the inside pages. "I mean, is he one of the victims?" She winced a bit mentally, thinking that didn't sound right.

"I knew he probably wouldn't be..." Yuki said, looking over Kyoko's shoulder just to make sure. "He never made it on the news, I don't think. I was watching, but- yeah, he's not on the list. Makes you wonder, how many people even Kira can't get."

"How many billion people are there in the world again?" Kyoko was honestly trying to remember, but Yuki laughed like it was a great joke.

* * *

"Matsuda!" L snapped, slapping Matsuda's over-eager hand away from the mic, "I mean, Matsuda-san! Please don't tell Light!"

Something was still wrong, but even though he felt lost, L had one last advantage. He had Light held captive, and he wasn't about to let him out until he confessed. Kira of all people should realize by now that L didn't always play fair.

Japanese cops though, were another story. L couldn't keep the news from the chief, and Yagami-san proved himself to be a match for L in stubbornness. He had every right to leave his self-imposed confinement, but he turned it into a martyr's protest instead. Day by day, L was losing what little support he'd ever had.

"...What do you think, Ryuuzaki?"

"I think he's cracking. I think he'll confess everything once he can't stand it anymore, once he finally accepts we have him cornered, and he can't talk his way out."

"That's not what I _asked you, _Ryuuzaki!" Aizawa shouted, slamming his hand on the desk and creating a shockwave of silence behind it. "I said, maybe we should look for any changes in these newest targets, to see if it's a new Kira, like you did for the second Kira! What do you think about _that, _Ryuuzaki?!"

L slowly turned in his seat. Aizawa stared him down, even his afro seething with rage. Matsuda cowered at his side.

"You look like you're on top of it."

It was the wrong thing to say. Aizawa grabbed a wide and heavy handful of paperwork and hurled it at L, the sheets fluttering away into a scattered mess before they reached him.

"We didn't sign up with the so-called greatest detective of all time so he could sit on his ass and watch reruns all day!" Aizawa boomed, his voice filling the room with a sharp echo. "The criminals are being killed again right now, and you aren't even paying attention!" Aizawa waited for a tense moment until L's side-on glance, still just barely eyeing the screen, set him off again. He pointed to the door. "Get out. For at least one fucking day, you are going to stop looking at that fucking screen. Even Matsuda can handle that job." Aizawa paused as Matsuda made an incoherent noise of protest, strangled off halfway. "Call it a sick leave, 'cause you've gone sick in the head. Come back when you're ready to work on the goddamn case."

L climbed down from his chair, turning back to the screen as he stood up.

"You may have a point... Aizawa-san." L pushed down the button to call for Watari.

"Yes, Ryuuzaki?

"Watari... can I leave you with Light-kun for a while?"

"Of course, Ryuuzaki. I'll contact you the instant I see anything unusual."

"Thank you."

When Watari arrived, he came bearing a large box of cupcakes and a pair of shoes.

L left the room without looking at the others. He ducked into his limo and listened to the soft padded silence around him while the chauffeur walked back around to the driver's seat. What frightened him was that his head felt just as fuzzy and silent. He tried to think about the latest Kira killings, but couldn't even begin to focus. L didn't believe for a second that he was wrong about Light. But he was wrong to have turned off all other thoughts. It was dulling his insight, sabotaging himself. He had to fix it. The chauffeur patiently glanced back at him.

"Just drive around anywhere, for now. It doesn't matter where, just keep moving."

He set the shoes down on the floor and opened up the box of cupcakes. This was one thought he could handle - deciding which flavor he felt like eating first. L chose a chocolate mudcake and licked the frosting from it as he watched the city scroll past the window. He absently pulled his phone from his pocket, stumbling upon something that had been shoved very far back in his brain.

* * *

Kyoko entered the crowded lecture hall and scanned the available seats. She couldn't stand the feeling of hiding away in the back, so she preferred a seat in the middle-to-front rows. It helped keep her alert. But the middle of the row itself was never an option. She'd move farther back if it meant she could grab a seat right on the aisle. Just in case. She felt some occasional annoyance from students who had to step past her, but she wouldn't break her new habit. Even if it was silly.

The lecturer began and Kyoko's pen moved quickly, keeping detailed notes and comments. She was caught at an awkward moment, turning to a fresh page and diving in to continue writing when something vibrated against her chest. Kyoko jerked back like it had been a defibrillator instead of her phone, startling the girl seated next to her. With another jolt, her hand flew to her shirt pocket. The phone buzzed again as she stupidly remembered to put the pen down first. How many rings had that been? Whispering a random apology to anyone in the vicinity, in case she blocked their view or bumped into them, she ducked out of her seat and bolted up the aisle with whatever dignity she could muster. She'd once pictured herself in this moment, acting with secret-agent precision, noting the call and gracefully excusing herself, allowing herself a fair number of rings before she picked it up right outside the lecture hall's door. In reality, she hit "answer" as soon as she was sure she had the phone safely in her grasp. She got one glance at the screen in that split-second before it reached her ear.

_Unknown number._

"Hello?" Kyoko said in a stage whisper, hurrying the rest of the way up the aisle and out the doors. It had to be...

"Is this Nakamura-san?"

"Yes," she said, much louder, leaning against the outside wall. Despite her stumbling start, his opening lines sounded exactly like she'd imagined.

"This is Ryuuga."


	8. Chapter 8 : Coffee

"Are you at Toh-Oh?" L asked. He wondered if Nakamura-san had class now. It sounded like she was whispering when she picked up.

"Yes, I'm on the campus, are you coming to school?"

"I might be. Actually, I was wondering if you had time for that date today."

"Of course, what time?"

"Well if you're free at the moment, would right now be all right?"

"Yes! I... really, right now? Um, where are you?"

"Hold on a moment." L had to check with the driver briefly, since he didn't know himself. "...I should be there in about fifteen minutes. Do you remember the place where you talked to me? Where my limo picked me up?"

"Yes, I'll meet you there?"

"Right. Well then, see you soon."

"See you..."

L ended the call wondering at how surprisingly easy that was.

* * *

L had the chauffeur stop short so he could walk the rest of the way. Somehow this seemed better than having her see the limo first. He slipped his shoes over his bare feet just before he stepped outside. As he turned the corner, he saw his date standing up ahead on the sidewalk. Kyoko Nakamura, that girl with the glasses and the bobbed hair.

She was looking off in the distance and leaning back and forth on her feet, both hands wrapped tightly around her backpack handles. L didn't get far on foot before she spotted him. She half-walked, half-jogged to him with her hands still glued to her backpack.

"Ryuuga-san! I'm so glad you called after all." She said, a little out of breath.

"I'm glad I finally got the chance. As I said... I've never been on a date before."

"Well you know, I haven't either..." Kyoko started, speaking very quickly. "Not a proper one like this, I mean. Just things with whole groups of friends." She fell in beside him as he started walking back towards the limo. "I'm surprised you haven't!"

"You are?"

"Well, even if you never had time for it, I guess I'm surprised no one asked you before."

The chauffeur saw them approach and came to open the back door. L waved for her to step in first. Kyoko started to duck through the door, then stopped and backed up so she could slide off her backpack first. She stepped inside and L perched on the seat across from her, fluidly kicking off his shoes first so he could wrap his toes around the edge.

"I'm still wondering a little why you did, though..." L said, searching in vain for something to talk about and getting lost in his own analysis. It only felt like a mystery because it had never happened to him before. But rationally, it made sense that once he started venturing outside more often, he could attract attention. Statistically, it was easy to believe that this one person's percentage worth could be positive attention. Mogi's observations supported it as well. He looked to the side and grabbed the box sitting next to him. "Would you like a cupcake?"

"Oh thank you," she said, leaning forward to look through the box once he held it open. "They look wonderful! Is this one a hummingbird?" she asked, holding up a speckled yellow one with thick creamy frosting.

"You know your cake." L smiled, thinking that Matsuda and Aizawa and even Yagami-san never seemed to appreciate the extra treats Watari brought for them. But since that just meant more for him, he'd never noticed before that it offended him a little. Odd. He put the box back on the seat and grabbed a German chocolate one for himself.

"I have a bit of a sweet tooth..." Kyoko confessed as she carefully bit around the edge of the cake. Her plan was apparently to get a little frosting in each bite. This was a methodical approach that he could respect. "These are so nice! You should be careful, if you get me started I might eat your whole box!"

"That's all right, there's five left, I'll take two more and you can have the last three."

"Three?" Her eyes widened. "Well I should try another one later... where are we going, anyway?" The chauffeur looked back to L with the same question in his eyes.

"Sorry, I don't know yet." L wolfed down the cupcake in a few large bites and then licked his fingers. "If there's anywhere you'd like to go though, it's my treat."

"Wow, you're even worse than me!" Kyoko said with a light laugh, still finishing the center of her cupcake. She started to lick her fingers too, before catching herself and grabbing a napkin. "Hmm... if you're a big sweet tooth too then," Kyoko looked away, absently wiping her hands. "Well maybe you would like it, I did have this one idea for a date... but I was worried it was too boring. And you already got the cupcakes..."

"It's all right, wherever you'd like to go."

"I always thought it would be fun to just spend the whole day, going to as many different cafes I can find, and trying the coffee at each one! And maybe some cake."

"That _does_ sound fun."

* * *

_Round One: Black coffee (with six sugars) vs. Mocha_

_

* * *

  
_

"You got that much sugar the last time too, didn't you?" She asked him as L ripped into his fifth sugar packet. "Back when I last saw you at school. I heard you say something like six sugars, but I didn't think you were serious!"

"I usually like my drinks very sweet, yes."

"I usually like my coffee sweet too, but wow! Not _that _sweet, how do you stay so thin?"

"Pound for pound, brain tissue uses up more energy than any other. You have to keep using your brain."

* * *

_Round Two: Cafe Latte (with four sugars) vs. Double Hazelnut Mocha_

_

* * *

  
_

"Is chocolate your favorite?"

"It is. I never liked coffee before until I had one with chocolate. I love chocolate sweets the best too! What about you, Ryuuga-san?"

"Hmm... I like cakes and ice cream."

"Like at a birthday party?

"Maybe. I never had big parties. But I always got very good cake." As L recalled the memories, he felt them reflexively branch out into safely rewritten scenarios. It wasn't necessary, though. She asked him a much simpler question than he was preparing for.

"Hey, are you as good with caffeine as you are with sugar?"

"I have a fair resistance to it."

* * *

_Round Three: Coffee Float vs. Coffee Float_

_

* * *

  
_

"Ooh, this one was a good idea!" Kyoko raised a small island of ice cream from a sea of coffee. As the spoon lingered in her mouth, her relaxed smile looked at odds with her caffeine jitters.

L was running out of small talk. Would this really help him get his mind back on the Kira case?

"I forgot to ask if you had any classes today. Will you need to get back to campus?"

"Oh! No, I don't... well, I did... it doesn't matter. One day off is fine." She took a couple more hurried bites of ice cream. "I mean, this is a special occasion, isn't it? You had to wait so long just to go on a date... I wanted to ask you actually, why you never seem to be around at school."

"It's a long story," L said, leaning back as he huddled in his seat. "But in short, I'm just a part-time student." It felt like a personal challenge to see how long he could get by, lying only by omission.

"I wondered about that! I thought you must already be working in your family's business or something..."

"That's not a bad guess," L said. "I wonder... what else would you guess about me?"

"Um, I don't know! I hardly know anything about you yet, so I would only guess crazy stuff!" Her laugh sounded a bit forced.

"That's all right. Call it a test of your deductive skills."

"Well..." Kyoko rapidly stirred her drink. "Okay, but don't get mad if I guess totally wrong."

"Of course not." L got back to his own drink, nearly draining it while Kyoko gathered her thoughts.

"Let's see... everyone knows you're probably rich because of your limo. But you're not famous or anything, at least not that I know of. Maybe that's just because of the other Ryuuga, though."

"I promise we aren't related," L said with a grin.

"No, I wouldn't think so..." Kyoko trailed off before launching into her big hypothesis. "Okay, so maybe your family's so successful you just grew up knowing a lot about business, and you're a natural genius, so you didn't think you even had to go to school! But your parents probably wouldn't like that, they might think it would look bad... so maybe they made a deal with you, that you had to apply at Toh-Oh, but you could go to work after all and skip as much school as you wanted... if you got one hundred percent on every question in your entrance exam! Which you did!"

L almost had a hard time following the last sentences. Almost. He was observant as ever, but between her anxiety, her enthusiasm, and the caffeine, Kyoko's speech was getting faster and faster. Her scenario was odd, but not much more than the reality. Not too bad for a speculative profile. Especially on such short notice and minimal facts.

"Yeah, you studied extra hard and did it after all," Kyoko continued, "so now you're always busy having business meetings and stuff like that, and you only go to school for fun stuff, like playing tennis. Either that or you're Kira or something. But-"

"Kira?" L asked, his eyebrows shooting up. Kyoko's high-speed monologue cut off sharply. Then he remembered some detectives _had _guessed just that... that he, as L, could have been Kira all along, just putting on a show, or maybe suffering from a split personality. He frowned reflexively at the annoying thought, and she stared at him like a deer in headlights. Her cheeks were turning bright red.

"I'm sorry... that was such a dumb joke," Kyoko said, burying her face in the last of her coffee float. She'd misunderstood him- no, it looked like something deeper than that. She was visibly shaking, and she hadn't had _that _much caffeine. L glanced around the cafe. Their corner of it was still quite secluded.

"Nakamura-san, does Kira scare you?"

"Well... sort of, it's just spooky to not know how he does it, and nobody knows what's going on! That's all-"

"It's okay," L said. Somehow, this felt so encouraging. "I'm not fond of Kira either, to be honest." This was what he needed to fight Kira for. For the innocent people, living in as much fear as the guilty. "More than anything, I hope to see him brought to justice." Justice. That was why he had started this personal crusade to begin with.

"Ryuuga-san... you really mean that?" Kyoko asked quietly. "Everyone else at school..."

"He might not have as much support as you think. Other people might also be too scared to speak against him," L said. Kyoko finally looked up to meet his eyes again, and took a deep breath.

"Is it all right if we go somewhere else next? I think I probably shouldn't have any more coffee!"

"Of course." L stood up and walked back with her towards the limo. One of his hands dangled awkwardly close to his pocket. It felt like he should do something like put it on her shoulder, but he wasn't 100% sure.


	9. Chapter 9 : Stuck

Kyoko suggested a garden as their next destination. She left her backpack in the limo, feeling silly for not even taking it off during the last ride. They walked side by side through the large red gate, both with their hands in their pockets. Subtle white noise in the background helped make the silence less awkward - running water, rustling leaves, other groups of mostly quiet people.

"This was a very good idea, actually," Ryuuga said as they came to a rock garden. "I hear these Zen gardens are good for meditating."

"Oh, do you meditate?"

"No. But I haven't been able to think straight these days." As Ryuuga looked down at his feet, Kyoko noticed he hadn't bothered with the shoes this time.

"How come?" Kyoko asked, finding a bench where they could take a seat. Ryuuga hopped up into his fetal posture.

"I've been stuck on a problem and not getting anywhere."

"Aah. Then this would be good place to try it for a minute." They sat still and closed their eyes for a little while.

"So do you meditate, Nakamura-san?"

"No." Kyoko laughed.

They stood up and moved on through the rest of the garden, coming to a bridge. Its short but thick wooden railing barely came up to their waists. Kyoko leaned over it to look for fish in the water below.

"Ryuuga-san, how close was I when I was guessing about you before?" Kyoko turned as he joined her at the railing.

"Pretty close. I'm actually in business for myself already. I don't need the classes or the degree at this point. Half the reason I applied to Toh-Oh was just the challenge, to see how well I would do on the exam."

"What was the other half, then?" Kyoko asked. Ryuuga chewed his thumb for a moment before he answered with an impish grin.

"The connections, of course."

"Wow, I haven't even started thinking about that stuff yet! I'm just trying to do well in class."

"What are you studying?"

"Um... just accounting..." Kyoko looked back at the fish. Ryuuga did seem a bit older, but still so young to be running a business all by himself! And to be so successful already! How did you even do something like that? It sounded so exciting.

"Do you like it?"

"Well..." It was bad enough that she was only studying something ordinary like accounting. The only thing worse was having to admit... "Yes! I do like it... anything to do with math, really. But even accounting, I like making sure everything adds up, so there's no mistakes!" She waited for Ryuuga to say something, but he just smiled at her. "Well, anyway, I'm good at it, so... and sometimes I think it's even like a puzzle or a game, or," wait, that was even more nerdy! "It seems strange to actually get excited about accounting, though," she said with a self-deprecating laugh. "It's supposed to be the most plain and boring thing to do ever! It's so embarrassing!" Kyoko played it up a bit, bringing her hands to her cheeks. "It's not like, running your own business or anything!"

"Maybe not. But if it's exciting to you, I think that's the only thing that matters."

"I know... but thanks."

They continued their walk. Maybe it was the quiet atmosphere, or the slightly more serious talk, maybe it was just the time that had passed, or even the caffeine high starting to fade, but things felt like they were drawing to a close. As much as Kyoko wanted to keep the date going, she wanted even more not to screw everything up, especially when things were going well. They were reaching the gates again.

"Do you think we could do this again sometime, Ryuuga-san?"

"I don't know," he answered, "it would probably take me a long time again. But I'd like to. This was fun." His smile made Kyoko want to melt into a puddle.

"Really?" Kyoko beamed. "Oh good, just let me know whenever you can, anytime's okay... ugh, that sounds so terrible, I sound so desperate, but you know what I mean! Since you almost never have the time... when you DO have time, I'd love to see you again, so don't worry about if I have class or if it's been too long... okay?" Kyoko took a deep breath.

"Okay." Ryuuga smiled.

They almost finished the cupcakes on the way back to Kyoko's place. She could only face one more, but Ryuuga easily polished off his half of the box. As he tried to talk her into one more, the limo came to a stop.

"Oh well, guess I ran out of time! I'll have to leave the rest to you!" Kyoko laughed as she slipped into some dramatic anime-style lines. "I'm counting on you!"

The chauffeur opened the door and she grabbed her bag. She was fine until she actually stepped a foot onto the pavement. Kyoko snapped her head around with a jolt of panic, thinking he might not follow her out of the limo. Thankfully, he was following right behind her, but the adrenaline damage had already been done. She only barely moved out of the way, standing right against the door so the chauffeur wouldn't get any ideas of closing it too soon. Ryuuga stepped past her onto the sidewalk. As soon as he stopped and turned around, Kyoko lunged. She had to hug him arms and all, since his hands were still in his pockets. She let go as he pulled them free. For the first time all day, he looked more flustered than her. Ryuuga slowly hugged her back, mimicking the way she had done it. Even though her arms were slightly bent at her sides, he wrapped his arms in a circle around them instead of her torso.

"Thanks again for calling me today, Ryuuga-san!" Kyoko spat out the second he stood back. She could actually feel the heat radiating off her cheeks this time.

"No problem," he said, awkwardly scratching the back of his head. "And thank you..." Ryuuga walked back to the limo and looked back one last time. He started to say something, but stopped, and gave her a wave from the door. Kyoko waved back and watched as the chauffeur closed the door, walked around to the driver's seat, and finally drove away. Once she finally lost sight of the car, she slowly made her way inside, still glancing over her shoulder.

"Kyoko! Who was that in the limo?" Her mom asked, turning from the window.

"Ah! You were watching?!" Kyoko was so startled her whole body jerked back.

"I wan't watching that much! But that car got my attention is all." That fake-innocent smile told Kyoko that her mom definitely _had _been watching.

"That's Ryuuga-san, from school. I'll tell you more later, okay?" Kyoko said, heading up the stairs.

"Okaaaay!" her mom called after her.

Kyoko plopped down at her desk and grabbed her phone out of her pocket. She had to call Yuki! Her finger jabbed at the buttons, but just as she hit "call", she froze.

_Oh no..._

She could hear the phone ringing. Kyoko brought it up to her ear.

"Hey Kyoko, what's up?"

"Aaaah, Yuki, I'm an idiot---!" She'd completely forgotten about asking him _his _phone number.

* * *

L thought to himself as he rode back to headquarters. He remembered telling Light how he was "my first-ever friend." For a moment, he'd felt like it would have been nice to say that to someone and not have it be a lie. Maybe he and Light could play at working together again? Just having him sit there confined was no longer helping. L could get more chances to observe Light if he was back on the case, more chances for Light to incriminate himself with what he knew as Kira. But this time Light would have to stay in his sight at all times. L couldn't afford to have Light find the new Kira before him again. There was still a catch, though... was it truly safe to let them out? Had the power "passed on", or was this a new, independent Kira, making a total of three? How could he test it? This was better. He was at least thinking of something. The limo pulled to a stop. L reached for the leftover cupcakes and got back to his original train of thought. He should tie up this loose end first. He walked through the empty hall to his private room.

L hunched over a laptop on the floor, pulling it open. His fingers automatically danced over the keyboard, entering a long passphrase of random characters and refreshing his counter to 30 days. He pulled his mic forward and paged Watari.

"Watari, come here and tell Aizawa-san or Mogi-san to take your place for a while. I have an errand for you to run. I'll come back to join everyone as soon as it's finished."

In the meantime, he could draft a letter.

* * *

"How many days has it been now...?" Matsuda asked.

"Forty-nine." Aizawa grumbled.

Aizawa and Matsuda were working through some paperwork together at one of the tables while Mogi sat in L's seat. They'd spent almost the whole day in the video monitor room.

"Do you think he'll-"

"Shut up, Matsuda. When he gets here, I want to hear what he has to say for himself."

They ended up still having a while to wait. Matsuda hated all this awkward silence, why was he stuck with Aizawa, why couldn't he have watched Light and Misa-Misa instead of Mogi?! Finally, they heard the door open. Matsuda and Aizawa both snapped their heads up instantly. L crossed the room in silence and stood next to his chair, resting a hand on the top of it. Mogi nodded to L and moved aside. L looked over at Aizawa, who was just standing up.

"You had your day." L climbed into his seat. "Let's get back to work."


	10. Chapter 10 : Numbers and Letters

"I forgot to ask his phone number!" Kyoko whined into the phone.

"Whose phone number?" Yuki asked, still not up to speed at all.

"Ryuuga's!"

"Well yeah, isn't that old news?"

"No, we actually went out on a date today!" Kyoko paced around the room with nervous energy as she talked.

"You what?! Really?"

"Yeah... he called back today saying he could go on that date if we went right then, so I went!"

"Kyoko do you have any idea how much homework I'm not going to get done tonight?" Yuki groaned. "You have to tell me the whole story now!"

"Okay!" Kyoko sat down on her bed and settled in to go over the whole day in excruciating detail. She started with stumbling out of class to get the mysterious phone call. It was a bit relaxing to look back and digest everything that had happened. She'd almost forgotten how delicious the cupcakes had been. Kyoko vowed to take Yuki to see that bakery sometime. She must be getting hungry - a quick glance at her watch showed it was almost dinnertime already.

"So anyway, if he called you after all that time before, I wouldn't worry," Yuki said, moving on to post-game commentary. "He'll definitely call you again now that you went on a date and he likes you!"

"Do you think he really does like me, though? I'm just the first one to ever ask him out..."

"Well that's gotta count for something, right? No one else was brave enough to ask him out!"

"Yeah, there is that! ...or maybe no one else liked him enough... I'm really worried now though Yuki, I think I'm just going to scare him off..."

"Why would he get scared off? If anyone should be getting scared off, it's you. You just need to remember, HE is the weirdo here!"

"But I'm probably coming on too strong..." Kyoko rolled over on the bed. "Yuki, what if I'm falling in love with him?"

"You can't be in love with him already, that's a crush, Kyoko."

"But this is different this time! I never had a crush on anybody for this long before! And I never actually asked anyone on a date before! There's just something about him... hey, are you in love with Takeshi-san?"

"Um... maybe a little bit? But if I was, I'd have a good reason cause I actually know who he is and went on more than one date with him! So just relax for now, already."

"Kyoko!" her mom called from downstairs. "There's someone here to see you!"

"Huh?" Kyoko said, getting to her feet. "Yuki, I'll call you back okay? Someone's here, maybe it's Ryuuga-san!" She fumbled with the buttons and dropped the phone behind her onto the bed. Yuki's voice still faintly came through the speaker.

"What? He's there now? Tell me _everything _that happens! Kyoko? Oh."

Kyoko ran downstairs to see her mom standing by the open door, next to someone. But it wasn't Ryuuga, it was an old man in an expensive suit. He wasn't the same chauffeur from before. He looked foreign, probably British, with a long white moustache and an amiably wrinkled face. He held a large gift-wrapped box.

"Good evening, Miss," he said. "I'm here to deliver this from Master Ryuuga."

"Oh, he isn't with you?" Kyoko asked, taking the present.

"I'm afraid he had some pressing business to attend to. Now if you'll excuse me..." the man tipped his hat to them.

"Wait! Before you go-" Kyoko awkwardly reached toward him with one hand while still balancing the box on her arm. "Um, I actually forgot to get Ryuuga-san's phone number while we were out today... I can't even call him to say thank you! Could you write it down for me?"

"My apologies, Miss. I'm afraid I'm not allowed to disclose any of his personal details. But he did include a letter for you. I'm certain that it should have all the information you need."

"Oh... well thank you..." Kyoko looked back at the box and sure enough, a blank colored envelope was stuck to the top, tucked under a bow in the corner. Kyoko and her mom watched as the old man got into his car and pulled away.

"So tell me about this guy!" her mom said, shutting the door.

"Well, I know him from school. We went on our first date today."

"I thought you had class today!"

"Well... yes..." Kyoko said, feeling her face warm up. "But this was the _only_ day he could do it! He's this... business... guy." Kyoko tried to get a reprieve by walking to the table and setting down her gift.

"Hmmmm...." her mom mumbled as Kyoko pulled off the envelope. "Well he certainly looks interesting. I hope we get to properly meet him soon?"

Kyoko tuned out as she unfolded the letter. It started with standard pleasantries, but very quickly became something else. It wasn't even handwritten or signed. Her eyes skimmed across it, just one sentence jumping out and landing with a heavy weight in her stomach.

_Please don't try to contact me._

"I don't know..." Kyoko managed to get out as her throat started to swell and choke up. She grabbed the box and ran back upstairs before she started crying in front of her mom. After closing and locking the door, Kyoko sat on her bed with the box at her feet, wiped her face, and read through the whole thing.

* * *

_Dear Nakamura-san,_

_Thank you again for inviting me on a date. I hope that you had as much fun as I did. However, there's something important I need to tell you. I apologize for not saying this to you in person, but I didn't want to spoil a nice day with something so serious._

_The truth is, I'm rarely at school because I've done something that Kira wouldn't approve of. For that reason, I've been trying to stay in hiding whenever possible. Since I've never been asked on a date before, it seemed foolish to pass up the rare opportunity. But I can't afford to make any more appearances in public, and can't risk having you get involved with me. Please don't try to contact me. It won't work, and may only endanger you._

_I hope this parting gift will properly express my gratitude, and give you something nice to remember me by. I wish you the best of luck in your studies at Toh-Oh, and your future career._

_Sincerely,_

_Hideki Ryuuga_

_P.S. When Kira is captured though, I expect to head back to the UK. Feel free to look me up there._

* * *

Kyoko looked warily at the package and knelt on the floor to open it. She lightly tipped it back and carefully pulled at the tape to unfold the wrapping paper in one intact piece. She set the paper aside and ran her hands over the box.

It was an espresso maker.


End file.
